


Sisters, Snowmen, and Sneaky Knights

by Dark_Angel23



Series: 25 Days of Christmas- Prompt Challenge [13]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Knows About Morgana's Magic (Merlin), Canon Era, Emotionally Constipated Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), F/M, Falling In Love, Gaius is So Done (Merlin), Good Morgana (Merlin), M/M, Multi, Snow Day, Snowball Fight, Snowmen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28476009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Angel23/pseuds/Dark_Angel23
Summary: 25 day Christmas Prompt Challenge- Day 13SnowmenArthur was quickly shoveling snow with his gloved hands and patting it down, while Gwen and Morgana were tasked with the duty to make it look good. Or at least vaguely humanoid.Or snowman-oid.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Leon/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: 25 Days of Christmas- Prompt Challenge [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039365
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Sisters, Snowmen, and Sneaky Knights

**Author's Note:**

> So sorry for the extremely late post, but think of it as a New Year gift.

**Day 13- Snowmen**

Arthur woke up not to Merlin’s cheerful ‘rise and shine’ and the bright light of the sun streaming through the window, but to the feel of an intense chill that penetrated his thick blankets and seeped through his skin, chilling him to the bone. His bed, with its nest of blankets and pillows, was impossibly cold, even though he had been in it all night and was supposed to be pleasantly warm. The fire in the grate had burnt out, a few hours ago by the look of it, and Arthur was forced to flip over and try to figure out what time it was.

The lone candle on his desk that he had left burning last night was mostly gone, the wick spluttering feebly over a small mound of melted wax. As he watched, a tiny wisp of wind swept in the room from a crack in the window, blowing over his desk and snuffing out the small flame. Arthur shivered.

The cold yet strangely melancholic environment of the room was disturbed by the sound of running footsteps outside his chambers, which grew steadily louder every moment. Arthur didn’t had time to move before the doors banged open, letting a gust of cold wind in and revealing a panting Merlin, whose face was flushed from the biting cold and grinning in delight.

“It snowed last night!” He exclaimed, as a way of greeting.

All thoughts of the cold vanished from his mind (but not, unfortunately, from his skin), and were replaced by unbidden joy. He hadn’t seen snow for a many years, even though Camelot grew cold enough in the winters, the last time it had snowed he was only a boy, not more than six summers old, and he had a caught a cold and was forced to watch village children from the window playing and hurtling snowballs from the safety of his room. He had begged his father to let him go until he had glared at him and told his nursemaid to take him away.

Arthur clambered out of the bed, almost toppling over in his haste to reach the window to look for himself. He realised it was a bad idea when frigid air hit him just as he was out of his blankets eliciting a shiver and a wince from him. It was at that moment that he realised that he was only wearing a thin tunic with nothing over it.

“Here,” Merlin said, padding over to the closet and pulling out a thick woolen cloak, which he tossed to Arthur. He caught it and put it over his shoulders, still shivering but relaxing as it became warmer. When he was finally comfortable again, he looked up and realised that Merlin was standing near and watching him, a contemplative expression on his face. It was at that moment Arthur realised that he had changed his wardrobe, wearing a thick knitted purple sweater instead of his usual threadbare tunics. His neck was wrapped in a woolen scarf, visibly thinner and older than his sweater. His legs were clad in a pair of thick black pants, his feet in their usual brown leather boots.

“Nice sweater,” Arthur blurted out, and flushed in the next second.

Merlin frowned. “Thanks? One of the seamstress’s mother made it for me after I helped their goat give birth.”

Arthur’s heart swelled at that piece of information, and he viciously tamped down on it. Nope.

“So, are you planning on standing there and staring at me or getting me breakfast before I starve to death?”

Merlin started. “I’ll just go. And I think honestly the cold will get you first if you don't wear something warm soon.” If he wasn’t wearing the scarf, then Arthur would have noticed that a slight blush was creeping up his neck.

Merlin moved to leave, but before he could get out, his way was blocked by Gwaine, Percival and Elyan, who burst into the room uninvited. All three were dressed more or less the same as Merlin, except the colours of their sweaters were different, and were high collared.

“Princess!” Gwaine practically yelled, his face flushed and snow in his hair. The others were the same. Looked like they had already been outside. “It’s snowing!”

“I noticed,” Arthur said dryly.

“Oh don’t be so grouchy,” To his surprise, it was Elyan who said that. “Come on let’s have some fun!”

No matter how much he protested, the knights and Merlin managed to drag him outside. Even if he would deny it to his dying breath, he was delighted, both of the fact that it was white everywhere he saw and his knights were having fun, including him. When he got outside, to his utter surprise, he saw that Gwen, Lancelot, Morgana and Leon were already outside, both couples alternatively throwing snowballs and each other and flirting shamelessly. The rest joined them without hesitation.

Arthur wasn’t sure how it happened, but a few hours later, he found himself in an intense snowman-making competition with the rest of his knights. He was in a team with Elyan, Morgana, Gwen and Leon, while Merlin, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Percival were in the other. Arthur had been unhappy with the arrangement, saying that Merlin would undoubtedly use his magic, but no one had agreed to stopping him from competing. As a compensation, his team had gotten Morgana and an extra member. They had roped a very reluctant Gaius in, who was sitting on the courtyard steps bundled in many coats and cloaks and staring intently at an hourglass. Both teams had an hour to build a snowman, and the one that would be taller would win. To discourage giving just piles of snow, points would also be given for how good looking it was.

Arthur was quickly shoveling snow with his gloved hands and patting it down, while Gwen and Morgana were tasked with the duty to make it look good. Or at least vaguely humanoid. Or snowman-oid.

A few feet away, the other team was doing the same. Even though their snowmen were roughly the same size, it looked much better. Merlin was undoubtedly using his magic.

Arthur did not know what came over him, maybe it was frustration or affection, it was difficult to differentiate, he picked up a handful of snow, shaped it into something that looked vaguely like a ball and lobbed at his head. He watched in satisfaction as it hit Merlin soundly in the head. He stumbled, but unfortunately not onto the snowman, before he whipped his head around and narrowed his eyes at him. Arthur felt some emotion surge in him at the sight of Merlin’s scrunched up face, but didn’t stop to identify what it was, as he shot him a grin back, mostly teasing, but a little fond too. Merlin’s eyes narrowed further, and before Arthur knew what was happening, he was whispering a spell and snowballs were launching themselves at him. He yelped and took off, running across the courtyard, the snowballs still hurtling at him. One of Arthur’s haphazardly-thrown snowballs hit Lancelot in the face, and before he knew it, a full out snowball-war had erupted, the snowmen forgotten. Gaius sighed and left.

Giddily, he wondered what his father would think if he saw him right now, running around in snow with his servants and knights, but he didn’t let the thought get to him. He glanced at Merlin, who was laughing before getting a faceful of snow.

 _‘Uther didn’t know how to live.’_ He remembered what the warlock had told him a few months ago. _‘Doesn’t mean you don’t get to as well.’_

Grinning, he barged in the commotion again.

_Take that, father._

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly one of my favorites so far. I finally finished Merlin last night, half an hour before midnight, and the ending was honestly fitting for 2020, with the kind of year it has been.  
> Happy New Year to all of you! Stay safe!


End file.
